The Hungarian association Co-efficient from Budapest is HEureka's permanent partner in international activities. We have cooperated many times both in Poland and in Hungary. In 2018, we were pleased to accept an invitation to take part in a training course devoted to the 'peer supervision' method, which as HEureka we knew only at the basic level.

This method is designed to support the daily work of professionals, equipping them with a tool that they can use when crisis situations arise. The implementation of the method by professionals often prevents burnout.

An important goal of the entire project was also to raise the awareness of non-formal education professionals that their daily work needs to be supported continuously (or at least from time to time) through self-reflection and increasing self-awareness in order to be able to process the experience gathered as youth workers.

The training course, which took place at the beginning of September 2018, was attended by HEureka's member Katarzyna Kurowska and Monika Kwiecień, an English teacher at W.Jagiełło Secondary School from Krasnystaw. Monika is our contact teacher with whom we communicate directly in all activities related to our cooperation with our partner school from Krasnystaw.

HEureka Generator: Monika, you just came back from a training course for youth workers in Hungary. You went there with Katarzyna Kurowska, a member of HEureka. How was this meeting different from youth exchanges?

Monika Kwiecień: There was less people there and it helped in getting to know all the participants of the project. There was something like family atmosphere. I had smaller responsibility, I could be focused on myself only. There were greater opportunities to use English on a more professional level. I gained more from this TC for myself and there was greater opportunity to share my experience with other participants.

HG: How could you encourage other teachers who are thinking about participating in an international training course for youth workers with HEureka?

MK: It is an opportunity to meet various, interesting Europeans working with young people, ready to share their experience with others, willing to provide support in difficult situations. Additionally, they are people of different ages, with different specialties, with different baggage of experience, which broadened the perspective of what youth work is. It is an amazing opportunity to reflect on yourself, your own working tools, and confront it with others.

The project develops in terms of professionalism (the opportunity to learn new working methods, learning from each other) and personality (strengthens or develops a sense of self-confidence, leadership skills, social competences, increases the sense of initiative).

This type of training course also develops intercultural communication, teaches tolerance and empathy, and is addressed primarily to teachers interested in their development.

HEureka Generator: Kasia, the main topic of the training course in Hungary was the use of supervision method to solve the problems of youth workers and their organizations. How would you explain what supervision is and how can it be useful in the work of an NGO such as ours?

Katarzyna Kurowska: The method of supervision is a tool with which you can increase the effectiveness of your activities. It consists a group process of analyzing a specific problem, bringing into the light the most important question in the matter and presenting possible solutions in the form of a selected technique most appropriate to the presented topic. Each person has a role to play. In order for the method to be effective, it is necessary to use a clearly defined scheme of conduct and show commitment and empathy throughout the entire process.

For example, the method can be used in a situation where a given problem is ambiguous and arises at the meeting point of several areas, including social norms, ethics, own limits of involvement, law, finance, and power. Often in such cases, the method of supervision allows you to calmly look at a given topic and, with the help of group members, take a new perspective, gain a fresh perspective on the matter and take into account new solutions that can improve activities, thus preventing exhaustion and burnout.

HG: Was there a point of the programme that you particularly liked?

KK: Yes. It was a session related to the topic of empathy. After exploring the topic, I discovered that I still had a lot to do in terms of being an empathetic listener. The session contained a lot of content very well prepared by the Greek group. This session greatly influenced my ability to participate effectively in the supervision process.

HG: The Co-Efficient Association is HEureka's permanent partner in international activities. You have a lot of experience connected to our local and international actions. Have you noticed any interesting aspects of how Co-Efficient does their activities?

KK: The training was conducted by two people. Lilla Kalos was with us and she took care of the atmosphere throughout the training. They shared the work and I think it mainly helped them. This time there were more exercises with rhythm, reflective - concentration exercises with the use of music. On the last day, we made plaster masks, then we painted them, others could paint them for us and we could say what the painted things meant - a definitely reflective day. The reflection groups were a real summary of how we felt and everyone spoke, including the difficulties and needs.

The daily schedule was well planned. The group building system was very efficient. The content was presented in an interesting way. We had various forms of group work. I take the whole thing very positively, because everything resulted from something and in the end a picture of new knowledge and skills was created - the most important for me.


Video materials about the training course 'Let It Be Vol. 2 - Shared Wisdom'